Pork Carnitas Tacos Recipe

I LOVE pork carnitas tacos. Pork shoulder (or pork butt) slow-roasted in a slow cooker with pineapple juice and spices until it easily shreds apart. The best part? It’s the perfect crispy meat for tacos, sliders, quesadillas, and more….and you’ll have plenty of leftover pulled pork to try all three.

My pork carnitas tacos recipe is served as a small corn tortilla street taco with fresh cilantro, diced onions, lime wedges, and a creamy lime sauce for a simple and delicious taco.

Dry Rub and Seasoning

I rub the pork with a simple blend of cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper, and cook in pineapple juice, a splash of beer, garlic, and chopped onions. It’s a flavorful blend of sweet, citrusy, and salty ingredients that pairs well with just about anything.

My only tip here is to do a good job rubbing the spices into the meat so it really soaks in during the cooking process.

Removing the Fat Cap

The fat cap is a thick, tough layer of white fat that sits on top of larger cuts of pork, such as butts and shoulders. I opted to remove the majority of the surface fat cap so the dry rub could better penetrate and soak into the meat. You don’t need to go crazy removing the fat, a little is OK. In general, a pork shoulder or butt will have enough fat throughout the meat to keep it tender and juicy either way.

Just to note, this step is optional and you can leave it on to cook, you just may have to remove it after cooking as it won’t entirely break down.

Slow Cooker Carnitas

This recipe involves slowly roasting the pork for 4-12 hours depending on the cooking temp and size of the pork. A 4-5 pound boneless, skinless pork shoulder or pork butt is ideal for this recipe and will take about 8 hours to cook on low cook mode in a slow cooker.

Weight (lb)	Low Cook	High Cook
3-5 lb	6-8 hours	4-6 hours
6-8 lb	10-12 hours	6-8 hours

Note: Shoot for an internal temp of around 200 °F. Pork will be very tender and easily shred at 200 °F. Anything less, 145 °F for example, will be very tough pork.

Toasting the Corn Tortillas

Corn tortillas tend to be more brittle than flour tortillas. I prefer to briefly toast my tortillas in a pan or using the oven’s broiler. It works much better than steaming and tastes phenomenal. Either way, it prevents the tortillas from cracking or falling apart when handled.

On the stove: Sear in a large pan on medium heat with cooking spray. 1 minute per side should do the trick.

Using the broiler: You can also broil on high on a baking sheet, 8 inches from the heat source for 2-3 minutes (no flipping needed).

At a bare minimum, steam in the microwave wrapped in a damp paper towel for 30 seconds.

Creamy Lime Sauce

The sauce is optional, but a nice addition. It’s a really simple sour-cream-based sauce made with fresh lime juice and water. It serves as a mild and creamy sauce that can be easily drizzled over the tacos and brings out the flavors in the pork.

More Taco Recipes

• Carne asada tacos
• Spicy shrimp tacos
• Chicken birria tacos
• Sesame beef tacos
• Blackened salmon tacos
• blackened fish tacos
• Skillet fajitas

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